PLEASANT VIEW
                                ALSO KNOWN AS ELKO
                                 by Ron Woodward

     Driving along Indiana 16 about four miles east of Urbana on the Lagro-Chester 
township line one finds little evidence that a town once existed.  The town was first 
established as Pleasant View, the name coming from the pleasant countryside.  The first 
business was a blacksmith shop established about 1869 by a Mr. Finkenbeiner.  After him 
came a Mr. Cook and finally D.C. O'Neil who built a concrete shop being one of the very 
few such buildings in the region.  A store was set up in 1873 by a blind man.  Other 
merchants have been Samuel Jamison, David Stoops, W.Z. Taylor, Davis J. Kingsbury.  
There have been two doctors one of whom was Dr. F. H. Bloomer.
     There was preaching at the Daniel's School house which by January 28, 1860 con- 
stituted as the Regular Baptist Church of Pleasant View.  The elders of the church were 
Abraham Buckles, John Buckles and John Sparks.  A church building was dedicated 
November of 1866.  They had a membership of about 30 some of the families being 
Langston, Kelly, Stoops, James, Taylor, Cloe, Richards, White and Pugh.  
     The change in name to Elko came with the establishment of a post office in 1873.  
Early postmasters were Mr. Jamieson, J.R. Willson, David Stoops, W.Z. Taylor.  By 
1881 there were seven dwellings besides four or five farm houses in the immediate 
vicinity.


                                   MAJENICA

     Majenica was located north of the Salamonie River across from New Holland.  It 
might have had a future had it not been for the quicker growth of the rival town.  To the 
south of the town was a mill race with water coming from the Salamonie that was 
important to its founding.  The plat was recorded October 16, 1842 with 32 lots.
     Historians believe that the name of the town was probably taken from efforts to 
preserve the name of an Indian chief who once lived in the region.  The plat was vacated 
in 1863.


                                MOUNT VERNON

     Mount Vernon, located south of Wabash on Indiana 13, is still prevailing today with a 
few residents.  It was surveyed  July 29, 1847 and the plat filed by William Dayton, 
proprietor, in October of that year.  Main Street was the central thoroughfare and was 
known as the Peru & Marion State road.  Cross streets were Sugar, Walnut and Wabash 
streets. Its location near the Mississinewa river prompted the location of mills and there 
was at one time a post office.  Growth at Mount Vernon never reached very large 
proportions.   In 1848 William Ditton had a log tavern on the Marion & Peru road.  He 
was joined in 1849 by John Watkins who ran a brick yard.  Thomas Antrim ran a store.  
Others store keepers have been John Walker, Mahlon Antrim, Enos Massey, John 
Minnick and John Lemmons.  Blacksmiths have been John Willson, Abram Oakley, 
Samuel Bash, among others.  Hotels have been run by Ditton and –Shackleford.  Doctors 
have been Smith and Foreshay. In 1875 there were 19 residences as well as a frame 
school house on the corner of Sugar and main streets and a wagon shop and steam saw 
mill on Wabash street.
     By 1881 the little town had a grocery run by John Bish, John Whiteneck's store, John 
Crumley blacksmith, also had a wagon shop and a saloon run by Frank Monroe.  Joseph 
Knotts had a butcher shop.  Altogether the community had fifteen dwelling and perhaps 
75 people.